Picspams. Kind of. :)
Okay, okay, I stole the idea from Mariko, but it looked so much fun I couldn't resist. Um, blurbs contain spoilers for their respective seasons.
Favourite Blues:
1. Samezu Kai (Hyakujuu sentai Gaoranger) Yes, I'm sure you're all very surprised by this one. ;)
Where to start with Kai? I have a ridiculous amount of love for him and I latched onto him like you wouldn't believe when I finally got decent subs for Gao. I love that he's a brat and that he seems to enjoy pissing Yellow off all the time, but he also has his moments where he's not the brat/kid everyone seems to think he is. (Although, admittedly, before I realised Sae/White was 17 to Kai's 19, I really thought he was the baby of the group. He does kind of act like that most of the time, though. >.> <.<) He's also one of the more tactile rangers (for lack of a better term) ever and when I say he has subtext with pretty much every single teammate I am so not joking: it's even there with Silver and they have hardly any interaction in show at all.
2. Sanjou Yukito (Bakuryuu sentai Abaranger)
Yukito is one of those characters that leave me itching to get into their head and figure out what makes them tick. He's very reserved and self-sufficient, mostly as a result of the way he grew up, but over the series you can see him loosening up and accepting the family that's built itself up around him in spite of his best efforts at keeping himself independent. He's... the sceptic, I guess and the one to slam the brakes on by pointing out how ridiculous it is. Usually anyway. He's also proved willing to sacrifice his dignity for his annoyances of teammates. Schoolgirl's uniform anyone? ;) Oh, and did I mention the chiropractor thing? You seriously do not want to piss off the guy who can cause you excruciating pain with just his thumb and little finger. ;)
3. Ayase (Mirai sentai Timeranger)
Hm, I was actually expecting Ayase to be second, but Yukito just beat him out. Not by much, though. A lot of what I love about Ayase is the same as Yukito, such as the way he relaxes over the season, slowly letting people in while still being snarky and occasionally pissing off their Yellow. :D Ayase's illness is a big part of his arc but he refuses to let it define him, save that it makes him more willing to put himself between someone else and danger. Because he's going to die anyway, might as well go out doing something worthwhile, right? Fortunately Tatsuya manages to break him of that habit by sheer dint of wearing him down and the relationship between the two, whether you read it as friendship or something more is one of the big themes of the show.
4. Tomasu Hoji (Tokusou sentai Dekaranger)
Ah, Hoji, the definitive Pro. (At least, out of the seasons I've seen) Hoji is the ultimate pro and he's proud of that, to the point where making one mistake - admittedly a big one, though not an unfixable one - sends him into a cycle of depression until Ban beats him out of it. And no, I'm not joking about that either. Hoji is the logic to balance out Ban's recklessness - well, someone has to - and again, however you read those two, Ban and Hoji are kind of epic. :D Hoji is also stubborn as hell, which is both his strength and his weakness: it keeps him going but it also gets him into trouble because his pride won't let him quit once he's started something.
5. Akira (Hikari sentai Maskman)
And another bratly brat to round off the list: Akira and his magically appearing swords. :D Akira's enthusiasm for pretty much everything is infectious and not liking him would be like kicking an overly cheerful puppy or something. Like with Kai, though, the brat exterior can be deceiving because they both have a whole load of determination under that that rears its head when necessary. Case in point, the Unas storyline where Akira is (temporarily) blind and walking barefoot and bleeding over traintracks to get to his teammates while they're being attacked because he wants to help. That's dedication right there. ;)
And one bonus because I can't really leave him off, I love him too much:
6. Mogami Souta (GoGo sentai Boukenger)
Souta is another character whose head I really want to get into and it's still really frustrating to me that we didn't get more on his backstory, such as what the turning point was that made him give up being a spy, what made him decide to take the accellular and so on. I love that he's just as much of a brat as Kai and Akira, you just don't see it at first because he's much more subtle with it than they are.
And because I do love my reds as well, I guess I can spam with those as well. :D
1. Akaza BanBan. (Tokusou sentai Dekaranger)
ALWAYS AND FOREVER, GUYS. Ban is spazzy and reckless and his loyalty is unwavering. He believes so strongly in justice that the occasional jokes floating around fandom about Ban/Justice being OTP aren't entirely jokes. And yes, my love for the bratty characters is coming through here because Ban is actually my favourite character in Deka and he's about as bratty as you can get. Also, he has a really adorable pout which he breaks out when he's sulking, which happens fairly often. I just... I really love him a lot. Always and forever, people. Seriously.
2. Shishi Kakeru (Hyakujuu sentai Gaoranger)
Hm, Kakeru is a rarity among reds in that, while he does a lot of screaming about justice etc - seriously, do they put that in red ranger character hiring qualities or something? Like blues have to be good with kids: I have yet to come across a blue that isn't good with kids. Even Yukito is good with them in his own way - he's usually more level-headed and calm than your average Red. I guess he's more in the Mama Red/Asami Tatsuya vein than the Ban/Sosuke hyperactive model. ;) I love how he can be both partner in crime and stern mama depending on the circumstances and he somehow manages to be everything he has to be as a leader without it being contrived.
3. Kandou Jan (Juken sentai Gekiranger)
Jan is adorable. At first he reminded me a lot of Ban, but by the end of the season, not so much, strangely, although they do have their similarities. Jan grows a lot over the season, and the arc with Dan/Sugu? That hurt. A lot. I cried a whole lot over the scene with the two of them where Jan's trying to get him to remember who he is and I just... crying like a baby. I guess it really hits you because Jan always comes across as so happy go lucky that you don't see how lonely he is under all of that, so when it all comes out it's like a sucker punch to the gut.
4. Asami Tatsuya (Mirai sentai Timeranger)
Oh, Tatsuya. Meg's described him as a walking emotional sponge and it's very apt. Tatusya cares about everyone and is almost perpetually cheerful. Except when he's angsting over Ayase. Which happens fairly often, actually, hence the *almost* perpetually cheerful. He has a knack for wearing down the reserved characters just by unleashing that smile and the puppy dog eyes and they cave. It might take a while, but they do.
5. Shiina Yousuke (Ninpuu sentai Hurricanger)
Yousuke... well, Yousuke is your typical red, basically. Not that smart but loyal as all get out and willing to throw himself into insane amounts of danger to save the people he loves. He willingly got injected with poison to save one of them, which I think is a perfect example of the 'not too bright but loyal' thing. ^.^ And while he's not the smartest person ever, he comes through when it counts, which I guess is all that really matters?
And, to match one bonus with another:
6. Sasuke (Ninja sentai Kakuranger)
Okay, I haven't seen all of Kakuranger yet, but of what I have seen? Sasuke is awesome. :D Despite appearances I think Sasuke's one of the smarter reds and he tends to catch on faster than most of them do. And he also looks pretty tied up, but that's another post. He and Tsuruhime (awesome in her own right, I would add ♥) keep the others in line between the two of them, in a dynamic that is very similar to Tatsuya/Yuuri, only without the UST.
And now I want to do a PR version of this. *facepalms*
Favourite Blues:
1. Samezu Kai (Hyakujuu sentai Gaoranger) Yes, I'm sure you're all very surprised by this one. ;)
Where to start with Kai? I have a ridiculous amount of love for him and I latched onto him like you wouldn't believe when I finally got decent subs for Gao. I love that he's a brat and that he seems to enjoy pissing Yellow off all the time, but he also has his moments where he's not the brat/kid everyone seems to think he is. (Although, admittedly, before I realised Sae/White was 17 to Kai's 19, I really thought he was the baby of the group. He does kind of act like that most of the time, though. >.> <.<) He's also one of the more tactile rangers (for lack of a better term) ever and when I say he has subtext with pretty much every single teammate I am so not joking: it's even there with Silver and they have hardly any interaction in show at all.
2. Sanjou Yukito (Bakuryuu sentai Abaranger)
Yukito is one of those characters that leave me itching to get into their head and figure out what makes them tick. He's very reserved and self-sufficient, mostly as a result of the way he grew up, but over the series you can see him loosening up and accepting the family that's built itself up around him in spite of his best efforts at keeping himself independent. He's... the sceptic, I guess and the one to slam the brakes on by pointing out how ridiculous it is. Usually anyway. He's also proved willing to sacrifice his dignity for his annoyances of teammates. Schoolgirl's uniform anyone? ;) Oh, and did I mention the chiropractor thing? You seriously do not want to piss off the guy who can cause you excruciating pain with just his thumb and little finger. ;)
3. Ayase (Mirai sentai Timeranger)
Hm, I was actually expecting Ayase to be second, but Yukito just beat him out. Not by much, though. A lot of what I love about Ayase is the same as Yukito, such as the way he relaxes over the season, slowly letting people in while still being snarky and occasionally pissing off their Yellow. :D Ayase's illness is a big part of his arc but he refuses to let it define him, save that it makes him more willing to put himself between someone else and danger. Because he's going to die anyway, might as well go out doing something worthwhile, right? Fortunately Tatsuya manages to break him of that habit by sheer dint of wearing him down and the relationship between the two, whether you read it as friendship or something more is one of the big themes of the show.
4. Tomasu Hoji (Tokusou sentai Dekaranger)
Ah, Hoji, the definitive Pro. (At least, out of the seasons I've seen) Hoji is the ultimate pro and he's proud of that, to the point where making one mistake - admittedly a big one, though not an unfixable one - sends him into a cycle of depression until Ban beats him out of it. And no, I'm not joking about that either. Hoji is the logic to balance out Ban's recklessness - well, someone has to - and again, however you read those two, Ban and Hoji are kind of epic. :D Hoji is also stubborn as hell, which is both his strength and his weakness: it keeps him going but it also gets him into trouble because his pride won't let him quit once he's started something.
5. Akira (Hikari sentai Maskman)
And another bratly brat to round off the list: Akira and his magically appearing swords. :D Akira's enthusiasm for pretty much everything is infectious and not liking him would be like kicking an overly cheerful puppy or something. Like with Kai, though, the brat exterior can be deceiving because they both have a whole load of determination under that that rears its head when necessary. Case in point, the Unas storyline where Akira is (temporarily) blind and walking barefoot and bleeding over traintracks to get to his teammates while they're being attacked because he wants to help. That's dedication right there. ;)
And one bonus because I can't really leave him off, I love him too much:
6. Mogami Souta (GoGo sentai Boukenger)
Souta is another character whose head I really want to get into and it's still really frustrating to me that we didn't get more on his backstory, such as what the turning point was that made him give up being a spy, what made him decide to take the accellular and so on. I love that he's just as much of a brat as Kai and Akira, you just don't see it at first because he's much more subtle with it than they are.
And because I do love my reds as well, I guess I can spam with those as well. :D
1. Akaza BanBan. (Tokusou sentai Dekaranger)
ALWAYS AND FOREVER, GUYS. Ban is spazzy and reckless and his loyalty is unwavering. He believes so strongly in justice that the occasional jokes floating around fandom about Ban/Justice being OTP aren't entirely jokes. And yes, my love for the bratty characters is coming through here because Ban is actually my favourite character in Deka and he's about as bratty as you can get. Also, he has a really adorable pout which he breaks out when he's sulking, which happens fairly often. I just... I really love him a lot. Always and forever, people. Seriously.
2. Shishi Kakeru (Hyakujuu sentai Gaoranger)
Hm, Kakeru is a rarity among reds in that, while he does a lot of screaming about justice etc - seriously, do they put that in red ranger character hiring qualities or something? Like blues have to be good with kids: I have yet to come across a blue that isn't good with kids. Even Yukito is good with them in his own way - he's usually more level-headed and calm than your average Red. I guess he's more in the Mama Red/Asami Tatsuya vein than the Ban/Sosuke hyperactive model. ;) I love how he can be both partner in crime and stern mama depending on the circumstances and he somehow manages to be everything he has to be as a leader without it being contrived.
3. Kandou Jan (Juken sentai Gekiranger)
Jan is adorable. At first he reminded me a lot of Ban, but by the end of the season, not so much, strangely, although they do have their similarities. Jan grows a lot over the season, and the arc with Dan/Sugu? That hurt. A lot. I cried a whole lot over the scene with the two of them where Jan's trying to get him to remember who he is and I just... crying like a baby. I guess it really hits you because Jan always comes across as so happy go lucky that you don't see how lonely he is under all of that, so when it all comes out it's like a sucker punch to the gut.
4. Asami Tatsuya (Mirai sentai Timeranger)
Oh, Tatsuya. Meg's described him as a walking emotional sponge and it's very apt. Tatusya cares about everyone and is almost perpetually cheerful. Except when he's angsting over Ayase. Which happens fairly often, actually, hence the *almost* perpetually cheerful. He has a knack for wearing down the reserved characters just by unleashing that smile and the puppy dog eyes and they cave. It might take a while, but they do.
5. Shiina Yousuke (Ninpuu sentai Hurricanger)
Yousuke... well, Yousuke is your typical red, basically. Not that smart but loyal as all get out and willing to throw himself into insane amounts of danger to save the people he loves. He willingly got injected with poison to save one of them, which I think is a perfect example of the 'not too bright but loyal' thing. ^.^ And while he's not the smartest person ever, he comes through when it counts, which I guess is all that really matters?
And, to match one bonus with another:
6. Sasuke (Ninja sentai Kakuranger)
Okay, I haven't seen all of Kakuranger yet, but of what I have seen? Sasuke is awesome. :D Despite appearances I think Sasuke's one of the smarter reds and he tends to catch on faster than most of them do. And he also looks pretty tied up, but that's another post. He and Tsuruhime (awesome in her own right, I would add ♥) keep the others in line between the two of them, in a dynamic that is very similar to Tatsuya/Yuuri, only without the UST.
And now I want to do a PR version of this. *facepalms*